Territory



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

' E, LOTZE.

CURRENT PROPELLER FOR VESSJELS.

No. 401,446. PatentedAw. 16, 1889.

N PETERS mulm n w, Washiaglnn, D.C.

2 Sheets-Meet 2.

(No Model.)

E.-LOTZE. CURRENT PROPELLER FOR VESSELS.

N0. 401,446. Patented Apr. 16, 1889.

m zm UNirnn STATES ATEN'I Orricn.

ERNST LOTZE, OF SPOKANE FALLS, VASHINGTON TERRITORY.

CURRENT -PROPELLER FOR VESSELS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 401,446, dated April16, 1889.

Application filed July 24:, 1888.

T 0 all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, ERNST LOTZE, who have on August 25, 188%, declaredmy intention to become a citizen of the United States, residing atSpokane Falls, in Spokane county, \Vashington Territory, have inventedan Automatic Cable Propeller, for which invention I have filed a caveaton August 18, 1887, and of which invention the following is aspecification.

My invention is an improvement in means for propelling river-vessels,and has for an object to provide a simple convenient construction bywhich the force of the current of the river may be utilized as themotive power to propel the vessel against and in the reverse directionof said current, as will more fully appear hereinafter.

The invention consists in the novel con-' struction and combinations ofparts, as will be hereinafter described and claimed.

In the drawings, Figure l is a side View, part in section, of a vesselin connection with my improvements. Fig. 2 is a top plan view thereof;and Figs. 3 and a are detail views showing the main wheel and the clutchmechanism, as will be described.

The vessel or boat A, the hull or body of which may be of any suitableform, size, and construction, has the shaft A suitably journaled to it,such shaft bearing at its ends the under-shot side wheels, b, which alsomay be of any suitable form adapted to be acted on by the descendingcurrent to cause such current to revolve said wheels and the shaft towhich it is attached. It will be understood that the wheels I) areproperly referred to as undershot wheels, because the water, by contactwith them, serves to give them motion, and so revolve the drive-shaft Onthe shaft Aprefer.-. bly at about its center, as shown is arranged themain wheel 0, which is adapted to engage and-move up or climb the chainD as the said wheel is revolved. This wheel 0 may be fixed on the shaftA without departing from some of the broad features of my invention; butby preference I sleeve the wheel O loosely on shaft A and arrange theclutchblock G, keyed at E on shaft A, to be moved at G into engagementwith the main wheel to key or fix the wheel 0 on shaft A when de- SerialNo. 280,935. (No model.)

sired. This clutch-block is operated by a lever, (Z, and moves betweenthe wheels O at G and a stop, B, secured on the shaft. On the shaft A, Isecure a disk, D, having ratchetteeth engaged by the pawl f, suchconstruction operating as a brake to prevent the vessel from floatingdownstream when taken out of gear-thatis, when it is intended to stop itfrom climbing up the chain.

On the boat A, at its bow, I arrange i-"ertical guide-rolls a a, betweenwhich the chain D passes, and similar rolls, g g, are arranged at thestern of the boat, suitable horizontal rolls, 7t, being provided on theboat to direct the chain thereover and into proper contact with thewheel C, below which it passes, as shown most clearly in Fig. l.

The rolls 72, 7b on opposite sides of and adjacent to the wheel O are soarranged with relation to said wheel 0 that the chain D passes down fromsuch rolls h under the wheel D and is held by such arrangement firmly incontact with the wheel 0, so that a positive certain operation isinsured when the wheel 0 is turned.

The chain D lies on the bottom of the river, extending the full lengththereof desired to be navigated, such chain being firmly anchored at theupper end of the river. To the one end of a smaller chain, which has abarrel or other suitable buoy at its opposite end, so the lower end ofthe chain may be conveniently raised and placed over the boat underwheel O, as clearly shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

The wheel G being clutched to the shaft, it will be seen that thecurrent will turn the undershot side wheels, effecting a turning of themain wheel, and the teeth thereof, making into the chain, will climb upsuch chain, pulling the boat up the stream.

The separated vertical guide-rollers a a and g g secure the boat inproper alignment with the chain.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new is 1. The boat,substantially as described, provided with a main wheel and withguide-rolls by which to direct the chain into contact with said wheel,the upper surface of the rolls adjacent to the said main wheel beingarranged above the lower surface of the main wheel,

lower end of the main chain I usually secure whereby the chain passedover such guiderolls and under the main wheel will be held firmlyincontact with such main Wheel and the chain passed over said guide-rollsand under the main Wheel, substantially as set forth.

2. An improved boat, substantially as described, provided With a shaftsuitably journaled and having aWheel or Wheels arranged to be turned bythe current, a main wheel carried by and loose with reference to saidshaft, a clutch by which to key the said Wheel to such shaft, and guideslocatedon said boatby Which to direct an anchored chain into con.- tactWith said main Wheel, substantially as set forth.

3. The combination, in a boat, substantially as described, of the boathull or body, the shaft journaled thereto and bearing the undershot sideWheels at its ends, the main Wheel 0, loose on such shaft, the clutch bywhich such .Wheel may be keyed on the shaft, the brake consisting ofdisk D on the shaft, the pc W1 f, and the vertical and horizontalguide-rollers, and the chain guided by said rollers and engaging themain Wheel, substantially as set forth.

ERNST LOTZE.

Vitnesses:

WM. J. OLEARY, PAUL STRoBAcH.

